After another beatdown, this time by Nebraska at home. IU is 14-12 and have no business being in the NCAA Tournament. Not too sure about the NIT to be honest.
Is Woodson safe for another year?
Hard choice for sure. I mean you just shelled out a lot of money on football and your last few coaching hires have been busts. That is tough for donors looking at ROI. Can only go to the well so many times before the water is all gone.
If you are an admin, probably hard to make a choice at this point. Putting on my consulting cap to analyze top down and bottom up.
1. On court product is terrible. Kids aren’t getting better and most stats have regressed from last year and throughout the season. If you keep Woodson, you force him to clean house of the assistants. I’m talking everyone down to student managers are gone. Sorry Adam Howard, time to get a real job.
2. Recruiting - you have 1 kid coming in. Consensus has IU ranked with a powerful NIL yet you aren’t closing. You bragged about being in on all these burger boy 5* kids yet you basically missed on everyone. That isn’t a strategy for success. Also, it is out there that Woodson isn’t always hitting the road to recruit, he is sending assistants. That is probably part of your failure. Bring in NIL recruiting lead/coordinator roles. Think like General Manager.
3. Pampering - hire some demolition workers and destroy Woody’s cigar/wine man cave. You don’t deserve spoils and riches with the product you’re producing.
4. Portal - see 2. Part of bringing in new staff - find who is good at bringing in guys that works at Alabama, Arkansas, McNeese State etc. Pay them whatever they ask for and have them replicate the same at IU. It is your only way to stitch a successful outcome next year.
5. Next year is going to be rough. See items 1,2,&4 above. That is why forcing a cleaning house of assistants and bringing in guys who know how to work the portal is a key.
6. Upside and downside - keep or fire Woodson, next year is going to be rough. Do you want to ask donors to foot another 8 figure buyout? Can you set your targets and hire the right guy? I feel like Woodson wasn’t who they had in mind for the position and that is why they are where they are.
Thank you for coming to my TEDxIUBB talk.